Originally Posted by
trivia42
I'm cutting my teeth on a long-arm and it's proving to be a painful process. I'm thinking now i should have played more video games as a child for better hand/eye coordination! I'll get this, I'm sure but it took me 5 hours today to rack and do 3/4 of a twin sized quilt!
Thread breaking, tension issues, not centering the top on the rack...you name it, today I screwed it up the first three times I tried. How long does this take to learn? I feel like a total slow-poke. Thankfully I have work projects to finish and practice on. I had to come home and piece on my FW since it's a machine that actually doesn't fight me. LOL. Tomorrow's another go at finishing the twin sized and hopefully get a wall-hanging done. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!
Hi Trivia42, I just got my Handiquilter LA this May and yes there is a learning curve. I have watched every video and read books like crazy since starting. Have found good quality polyester thread ,40 weight, to be strong, pretty and a whole lot less lint. Use the same weight in top as well as in bobbin. When checking bobbin tension , hold thread while in bobbin and it should fall down firmly like a spider on its web . Not too loose though. Then on the outside edges of quilt, practice and adjust tension . I'm still new to some of this but getting better all the time and have found speed not to be a good thing especially if you want pretty work. Good luck and keep practicing.